Sunday, August 2, 2015

It's only been a couple months since the kids' birthdays, so I figure this is a good time to share about Danielle's party :)

I sewed Danielle a dress and tried to go with something with oomph, like I usually do for her birthday dresses. I used the Kenzie's Party Dress pattern from EYMM and did not enjoy making this dress! The math didn't work out right, and the dress looks a little limp without a pettiskirt underneath. But, my birthday girl loved it and is was very colorful and girlie.

The skirt is made from 12 flounces, which are sewn together into three tiers. The top tier has smaller flounces and the bottom two are the same size. I made this dress using fabric from my stash (because my stash is that ridiculous), except for the My Little Pony fabric which I bought for this dress.

The back is cut low and buttons, and there's a very large sash that makes a very large bow (shown looking tired because it's after the party!). I used some clear sparkly buttons, because sparkles go with rainbows and unicorns, right?

Speaking of, when Danielle mentioned that was the theme she wanted for her party, all I could think about was some cookies I saw on Pinterest labelled "unicorn poop". I instantly agreed with the theme, all because I wanted to make those cookies! And we did :)

I ended up using a sugar cookie mix (which made it soooo much easier), and the dough was kind of limp and sticky and hard to work with, so I ended up having to do my own thing for the swirls instead of following the directions I found. I love how they turned out and the kids loved being able to say the word "poop". We also made rainbow cupcakes (we being me and D--she was a lot of help with the cookies especially). That was cake batter split into separate bowls, then colored and put into cupcake liners one at a time.

Some fluffy white "cloud" frosting and silver sprinkles topped those off. Lest you think I'm one of those moms that goes overboard on my kids' birthdays, I promise, I am not! I try to balance making and buying things, and I try to get the most bang for my buck. I usually buy a character banner (that's $5), and then coordinate with solid color plasticware and plates and balloons from the dollar store. Add in a themed outfit which is way cheaper to make than buy, and we've got a party! Since Danielle picked a theme that wasn't character based, I did do something special for her banner:

A rainbow balloon arch! I learned to make balloon arches back in college for our military balls, so I used those long-ago skills, $4 dollars worth of balloons and 2 hours of my time (plus an hour of my husband's because he blew most of the balloons up with his air compressor in the garage) to make this. It was high impact and very inexpensive!

I think the most fun the kids had was with a "Pin the horn on the unicorn" game that I got for less than $2. Even little brother played:

Lots of fun without breaking the bank, and most importantly, my girl was over the moon.

Friday, June 26, 2015

I got some patterns in the mail today and my first thought was that I should post them on my blog. I thought that was pretty funny because I've only posted once this year (and, as a followup, I should add I did NOT end up sewing any items for the wardrobe contest--accountability, schmaccountability)

Here are my awesome new patterns:

I used to think Jalie patterns were expensive (they certainly aren't as cheap as the $1-$2 you can pay during paper pattern sales) but they're actually priced less expensively than a number of independent lines, and the quality and size range is pretty amazing. I've yet to sew a Jalie pattern up, but I have a swimsuit cut out for myself (Jalie 3134) that I hope to work on this weekend, and I've read many an awesome review on Pattern Review.

Jalie is known for their knit/activewear patterns and they just released this super cute leotard pattern that I want to get if my girl starts gymnastics in the fall. How cool are those stripes that extend down the arms?

photo from Jalie's website

In the meantime I plan to sew up the two patterns on the left in my picture above. I started working out a couple months ago because I figure I ought to get started on losing my baby weight now that my "baby" is 48 months old (the months is supposed to sound better than years...ha!) I've been doing a Jillian Michaels workout video twice a week before work and running a couple miles outside on Saturday and Sunday. I've always worn baggy t-shirts and shorts for working out, but it's too hot to wear anything but a tank top and I think it would actually be more comfortable to run in something fitted. Plus Jillian has been kicking my booty and I need some clothes that won't shift around while I'm busy dying doing my workout.

photos from Jalie's website

The Cora is a pattern for pants or shorts and has some cool color blocking options. The Anne-Marie can be a top or dress. I don't play tennis, so I'm interested in the fitted version of the tank (not shown above). The coolest thing is that the top has a pocket in the back--I run with my iPhone and I'm hoping that will be a great place to tuck it. The shorts/pants also have an optional pocket in the back.

Between work and family, I've been keeping pretty busy, but I'm hoping that I'll stick with blogging again. I hope I see you again soon!

Sunday, April 12, 2015

It's been too long since I posted, as usual, but I have been sewing. I recently reorganized my sewing room (pictures to come in a future post) and decided, quite randomly, to enter a contest tonight. I only have 4 weeks to sew 9 items for myself, *gulp*. I figure if I post about it, though, then I will have some accountability.

Who Am I?

My name is Angie and I am blessed to be the mommy to a daughter who is now 6 (!) (and the inspiration behind daniKate) and a 4-year-old son.I don't have as much free time as I'd like (who does?) but I like to sew when I can and blog about it. Thanks for visiting!